Heart of Disaster
by Beckon
Summary: It's been two years since they last encountered one another and yet, somehow he was different.


**A/N: Mindless little drabble I typed up a few months ago with some help from my sister. I read over it once or twice and yeah, it does get a bit out of character here or there, I'm very well aware of it but it happens- sometimes trying to capture the characters themselves is the hardest part of making a story; no matter how short the story is. Still one of those couples I have a difficult time typing for but I just can't get myself to let go.**

"Did I miss something?"

One eye cracked open at the familiar voice and yet his rigid body didn't bother to turn around to face it; it had been awhile now since that voice last rang between his ears.

Her hand found its place against the slender curve of her waist as she watched the delicate way the muscles of his bare shoulder rotated with the motion of his arm as he tore the katana from the ground. The sun blazed on his bronzing skin as a thin layer of sweat only seemed to enhance the contours of his back; reflecting the movement of his muscles as the man half turned towards her. His hair was still shaggy and unkept as it hung well into his line of vision; he still had those same two strands of wrappings that hung from the back and seemed to whip around in the light breeze.

He was shirtless- oh how she was sure to take that extra note- and yet any sign of his old self seemed lost under thick muscles and his filling structure. She smirked as she watched the way he twirled the sword in his right hand while his metal hand rested on the waistband of the same, draping skirt from years before. The long split up the side still revealed the thigh-high stockings he continued to wear; yet, now with his much fuller body, she found it questionable on whether to mention his lack of a fashion sense.

"Excuse me? Did you come to talk to me or did you come to simply stand there, maggot?" Albel questioned with a light hiss in his tone; watching the way that same-old wrinkled of her nose showed up.

"Don't mind me, I was simply admiring the way you seemingly decided that that skinny, pathetic look didn't exactly work for you." Maria snapped back; catching that flash in his dark eyes before it was almost followed by the slight curve of his lip.

Albel chuckled to himself as he watched the way it only seemed to irritate the woman even more. She hadn't changed the least bit; he could tell simply by her words and body language. And yet, she was still the egotistic bitch he had bumped heads with so many times before.

Her long, ocean-blue hair swayed lightly in the passing wind as several bangs dropped to frame in her face. The same old uniform continued to dress that figureless body of hers and yet he didn't really seem to mind it as much; no, he was the one who had completely changed and here she was, the same as she was two years earlier. Only now… they weren't attempting to save the universe from mass destruction; now, they were just standing there facing each other in one of the fields outside some of the local villages.

"What exactly brought you back here." he wasn't asking it; he was demanding it.

"Just thought I'd come back and talk to my most favorite person ever." her tone was bland, but still it managed to practically drip with sarcasm. And yet, she had almost missed their endless amount of insults and yelling that would often times nearly reduce her to tears.

"That's funny and to think I've clearly been avoiding you for these two years." Albel snorted.

Maria smirked teasingly; watching the way he sneered in return but yet it barely seemed to annoy him as it had done so before. "What happened to you?"

He pushed aside a free flowing band from his face; hearing the single link clang against his metal collar. "Meaning what exactly, scum?" he challenged; turning his full body towards her. There it was again, her eyes almost hungrily scanning his new body; following every new addition from his stomach to his chest and even to his new gauntlet.

"You've changed." she pointed out as her eyes followed the path of his newest body art; two dragons swirled up and around his chest- one red and the other blue. "For the better… might I add." those orbs glanced up at his own for a moment before they moved back to admire his new metallic arm piece. A demonic face seemed to make up the entire shoulder piece; two twisted horns curved off to the sides while and open jaw illustrated the motion of a terrible roar. She could easily point out the different strokes of the artist; drawing the eye to the pattern of fur and the aggressive motion of muscles. The rest of it was exactly as his older gauntlets before as it covered his entire left arm down to his fingertips.

"Congratulations, it's only been two years." Albel remarked sharply as he moved to pop his neck. "Some people grow and change; maggots as yourself, well you just stay the same."

"You certainly don't waste time." Maria chuckled. "Two years and I'm still treated like dirt… And to think at one time, I believed I would actually miss you."

He let out a low sigh before he slid his katana back into the sheath that dangled at his side; he carefully rested his hand on the hilt of it. "Hmp."

The slight cock of her head caught him off-guard as that teasingly grin came back to her lips.

"So… what made you think to finally work on your poor body structure?" Maria questioned. "Did the other soldiers give Albel the Wicked a hard time about it?"

Oh, those words made his blood boil and for a moment, he debated on challenging them and yet stopped himself for an unknown reason. Some internal work had prevented him from lashing out in short rage, something kept him from wanting to physically harm the woman.

"No." Albel replied shortly as he caught the slight surprise look on her face. "If people wished to keep their tongues than they keep words to themselves. And yet you Maria…" her name rolled off his tongue possessively. "Continue to push my limits. Even now."

"Now, that's the Albel Nox I left before." she caught a slight wrinkle in his nose, yet she couldn't really confirm it.

"You know, I told myself that if I ever came face-to-face with you again, that I wanted to impress you." he informed; taking one step towards her. "I wanted you to know that I have the force, the power to back up anything and everything I ever said. Do you think I would push myself to build up just for the hell of it? Ha, I didn't need to impress anyone; I already did. And yet you… you always seemed to casually shrug off everything."

His tone seemed to get more and more harsh with every word and yet she couldn't help but feel the slightest skip in her heartbeat at what he was telling her.

"Wait." Maria started as she held up her hands; watching the way nostrils flared at being interrupted in the midst of a rant. "You did this… for me?"

Those crimson eyes rolled in their sockets as a deep sigh escaped the male. "Yes, did you not hear my entire thing from ten seconds ago?" he snapped. "What? Got too much stupid stuck in your ears?"

"I just wanted to hear you say it again."

His eyes flashed harshly at the realization of her trick. "I hope you humor yourself with that, scum." he snorted once more before he started the motion to walk past her; however, the touch of her delicate fingertips against his chest seemed to stop him.

"Not so fast." Maria remarked; feeling the way his muscles tightened under her touch yet his face scrunched up in mild annoyance. "You should at least let me admire your work… after all, it is for me, isn't it?"

He easily raised one hand and placed it over hers; bundling her fingers into his palm, he pulled them away. "Ha, I'm pretty sure you've been admiring me since day one." he released her hand and watched the way those ocean eyes nearly gave her away.

"If that helps you sleep at night, then go on, continue to tell yourself that." her response was quick, yet only half-hearted. He only shrugged back at her before he started his own path back towards one of the surrounding villages. "Albel, you…"

He paused in mid-step; glancing over one shoulder, he watched as she sighed in near defeat. "If you have something to say, say it now or stop wasting my time."

She carefully reached up and ruffled her blue hair. "You didn't have to."

"Didn't have to what, worm?"

Tilting her head back, she rested her hands on her hips and let out another long sigh. "You didn't have to try and impress me." despite the difficulty in choosing the words, they came out relatively easily.

Albel narrowed his eyes; watching the way she nervously seemed to rub her arms before he turned himself around to face her once more. "Meaning what exactly?"

Damn, he was going to drain her for every little word she had.

"I don't mean to feed your ego… but you already did." Maria muttered in defeat. "I always admired the way you ran into battle without a care for your own well-being. You didn't care about who we were fighting or what they stood for, all you cared for was that they stood against you. Nothing seemed to faze you, not even Luther." She watched the way he started to make a remark but didn't seem to fall through with it. "I mean, com on, you're called Albel the Wicked for a reason. I remember when we fought Luther and watching the way you just went after him like he was just another enemy and not the creator of the universe."

"Let me ask you something, Maria." Albel started as he took a few steps to close the space between them; she didn't seem too thrilled on the closeness yet she didn't allow it to faze her. "Do you remember the night before we face the Creator? When you first expressed your fears of fighting him to me?" he carefully reached over with his metal hand and let his bladed fingers toy with her hair.

"Yeah." The metal was cold when it brushed against her cheek. "You called me weak and told me to suck it up." Maria muttered as she frowned at the memory.

"Yeah I did." he pushed the hair from her face and leaned down enough to feel the way her warm breath hitched against his face. His hand dropped to cup her chin, careful not to cut her skin as he tilted her hand up enough to allow their lips to brush. "I've been waiting since that day to do this…"

"Albel…"


End file.
